Email Advertising Doesn't Get Any Cheaper Than This

What is the most powerful marketing tool a web site owner has?
I'll give you a hint - it's not banner advertising! It's e-mail -
nothing else even comes close.

Have you ever really considered just how many people use e-
mail? There are millions upon millions of people out there who, if
they're anything like me, just plain love to get e-mail and
communicate with others using this wonderful medium. Part of the
beauty of e-mail is that people pay attention to e-mail. People will
actually read your advertisements if they're mixed with information
that's valuable to them. E-mail is the ultimate marketing tool.

How to Harness the Power
---------------------------

"Great," you say, "but how do I use this 'awesome power?'"
There are an unbelievable number of innovative and really effective
ways to use e-mail to advertise yourself and your business on the
Internet, but for the scope of this article, we're going to focus on
one.

E-mail Signatures
--------------------------

E-mail signatures, or "sigs," are one of the easiest and most
effective ways for an Internet marketer to promote his web site (or
other people's sites, for that matter.) For those of you who don't
know what an e-mail signature is, here's an example of one I use
on a daily basis:

Sincerely,
Micah D. Cranman
Sybren Design
http://sybren.net

========================================
Would you like to tap the money making potential
of the Internet with a powerful website? If so,
contact Sybren today for a FREE consultation!
http://sybren.net | mdc@sybren.net | 770-971-9868
========================================

(NOTE: Signatures can also be an effective tool when used in
newsgroups, discussion groups, or message boards. Use them
anywhere possible!)

Signatures can be easily set up in any e-mail program that's worth
something, and usually very easily. Just look in the "help" section
or browse around the program menus and you should be able to
figure out how to set them up pretty quickly. I personally use
Microsoft Outlook Express, and have found it to be totally
sufficient for my needs. (www.microsoft.com) Others swear by
Qualcomm's Eudora Pro, (www.eudora.com) and still others by
other programs. Just pick one that suits your needs.

Now, there are three key components to a signature, each with a
different purposes:

1. The closing of the letter - this is the first four lines you see in the
signature above. It's purpose is two-fold: to avoid having to type
a closing to save time (which can really add up if you get a lot of e-
mail), and to provide information about yourself, and possibly,
some contact information.

2. The advertisement - this is where you try to generate interest
for whatever you're trying to promote in the recipient of the e-
mail. It should in someway catch the reader's eye or stir up some
emotion that will impel them to act. (Note: FREE works especially
well as an attention grabber. Try to offer something free in your
signature.) This "ad" of sorts should be no more than 5 or 6 lines
long, and should probably be separated in some way from the rest
of your message, as seen above.

3. The information which shows the reader how to act - you have
to include some form of information about how an interested
reader can access a deal, contact someone, visit a web site, or
whatever else you're trying to get that reader to do. So, offer
them a way (or several ways) to go about "taking action," with
contact info, a web address, a phone number, etc.

How to Use "Sigs"
-------------------

Signatures can be a powerful tool for the budget-conscious web
site owner, if used effectively. If used poorly, they're simply a
waste of time and effort. So, in order to use signatures in a manner
that will produce positive results, here are a few things that you
should do:

a) Use as many different signatures as you can. Don't just send
one signature you've developed over and over again to the same
people. Think of several different ones you could use for your
business, and alternate. Also, signatures are an excellent tool for
promoting an affiliate program that you're involved in. Again, have
as many as you can, and rotate.

b) Test the effectiveness of your signatures. Don't just keep
sending the same group of signatures if it hasn't generated good
results. Try some new ones, testing each particular signature for a
little while to see if it's working better than other sigs you've tried.
And once you've improved on your initial results, don't just stop
experimenting. KEEP trying to improve upon your signatures
more and more and eventually, you'll really be generating some
good results.

c) Have a signature for every "type" of message that you send. If
you make a signature for every different situation and "type" of e-
mail you encounter, you can boost their effectiveness. For
example, since most of your friends probably don't want to hear
about your business or some affiliate program you're promoting,
think of something else that they would like and would benefit
them. Here's an example: you ever hear of those "get paid to
surf" programs? Well, since it would be unprofessional for me to
try to get people to sign up for them on this site, I promote the
programs to my friends through the use of e-mail signatures. I
could use something like this:

Regards,
Micah

P.S. Have you heard of those new "get paid to surf the web"
programs? Well, I signed up with one called AllAdvantage.com,
and they really work! I got a check for like $30 last week in the
mail. If you want to sign up for one, just go to:
https://www.alladvantage.com/joinsecure.asp?refid=ASU-673

See how effective that could be? And that applies for ANY e-mail
"situation" you might encounter.

Get to Work!
-------------------

Now that you're aware of all the benefits of using "sigs," you have
no excuse not to start. So, start thinking about a few signatures
that you could use. Jot them down on a piece of paper, revise
them, edit them, and USE them. Good luck!

About the Author

Micah D. Cranman owns and operates Sybren Design,
a web design firm specializing in helping small businesses
build effective and attractive websites. Visit Sybren
today at http://sybren.net or call 770-971-9868.

Direct Mail Advertising; Email Is Not Like Postal Mail

One of the most popular and potentially effective advertising
methods is direct email. If you deliver a well- written message
and execute delivery properly you will be rewarded with new
leads, sales, and traffic to your Web site. If the message is
poorly written or you commit a netiquette faux pas, however, your
efforts could end in disaster.

If you are new to Internet marketing, you might equate direct
email to direct postal mail. The concepts are very similar; in
both you broadcast a standard message to a large number of
individuals in hopes of receiving positive responses. To the
uninitiated, it is logical to assume you can approach the two in
the same way. It seems like the only difference is the means of
communication. If you are thinking this way, STOP! STOP! STOP!

Many people perceive unsolicited commercial message (UCE) - spam
- differently than junk mail from the postal service. The sender
pays for direct mail sent through the postal service. Not so for
UCE. Spam on the Internet ties up the recipient's resources by
using storage space, slowing down systems, and sometimes crashing
equipment. For this reason and others, many abhor spam. Some
assertively condemn spammers. If you spam you will undoubtedly be
reported to your ISP and email provider. Depending on the
circumstances, your accounts could be closed and your Web site
may be shut down. Need I say it? This is NOT the result you are
looking for from your email marketing program.

Some email advertisers feel that as long as there are unsubscribe
instructions in the email or they only send one message it is
okay to send unsolicited email. A few use never-passed
legislative proposals in their defense. In marketing, perception
is far closer to reality than loophole rationalizations. Some
recipients are offended whether the unsubscribe phrase is there
or not and they are offended even when they receive only one
message from you.

Different individuals define spam differently. Some consider all
forms of UCE or unsolicited commercial postings spam. This means
that if you send advertisements without prior permission from the
individuals you will get complaints. In all likelihood you will
be reported as a spammer. Because service providers generally
have user agreements that are stricter than current U.S. state
and federal laws, you are likely to be reprimanded, have your
site shut down, and/or be put on a blacklist if you send out UCE.

* Spam/UCE Law

As of this writing there are no U.S. federal laws governing UCE.
Some states, however, have laws that regulate UCE. These states
are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois,
Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada,
Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah,
Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia. Depending on the state,
allowable claims range from $10 per message up to unlimited
damages. Most state laws allow opt-out procedures. In other
words, companies can *legally* add a recipient's email to a list
without his/her knowledge as long as a means of removal is
provided. For details by state, go to
http://law.spamcon.org/us-laws/index.shtml.

International laws are stricter. Seven countries - Austria,
Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Norway - have opt-
in laws. In order to legally send UCE, you must first have the
recipient's permission. Other countries have opt- out directives
or pending legislation. EuroCAUCE provide details at
http://www.euro.cauce.org/en/countries/index.html.

Worldwide, there is much discussion about UCE and laws are
changing quickly. There are several sites you can monitor for
details about UCE. These include the SpamCon Foundation
(law.spamcon.org), the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial
Email (CAUCE, www.cauce.org), and the spam section of The Open
Directory Project (dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Abuse/Spam).

* More Email Marketing Resources

SpamCon Help for Email Marketers:
http://www.spamcon.org/marketers/index.shtml

SpamCon Links to Blacklists:
http://www.spamcon.org/directories/shared-blacklists.shtml

WebSiteMarketingPlan.com Links to Email Advertising Resources
http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/sr10.htm

Wilson Internet Links to Email Advertising Articles
http://www.wilsonweb.com/cat/cat.cfm?page=1&subcat=me_Email- Gen

About the Author

Bobette Kyle is author of "How Much For Just the Spider?
Strategic Web Site Marketing." She used techniques detailed in
the book to bring her own site, WebSiteMarketingPlan.com, from a
ranking of 17 million to 59 thousand+ in less than four months.
http://www.WebSiteMarketingPlan.com/sr.htm

Copyright 2002 Bobette Kyle. All rights reserved.